Fire
by padfoot's prose
Summary: Ginny has always had that little fire in her heart, keeping alive her hopes that, some day, Harry will love will her back. These are the days that transform that tiny little glow into an inferno. HP/GW for the Happiest Moment of Their Life Challenge!


**For my _5 Couples, 5 Days Challenge_ and for the _Happiest Moment in Their Life Challenge_ both on HPFC.**

**Day #4: Harry/Ginny**

It was after a late night practice with the Holyhead Harpies that Ginny saw them. She'd turned into an alley, intending to Apparate home from there, but the sight of the two dark figures ducking in the corner made her freeze, her stomach clenching as the tell-tale cold chill swept over her.

If Harry had been there, he would've told her to Apparate. The Muggle street beyond the alleyway was more or less out of sight and, standing where they were, the Dementors hadn't yet noticed Ginny. But, as she took a few steps away, intending to do just that, she heard the chattering voice of a child at the alley's mouth. Glancing back, she watched as a tiny blonde girl grinned widely, waving her sparkling silver wand up at her smiling mother.

It was Halloween, and the Muggles were out en masse. Surely, as a witch, Ginny had a responsibility to get rid of the Dementors before they became a threat to anyone less capable of self-defense?

Moving back into the alleyway, she drew her wand from her pocket, slipping into the shadows and hoping that no one on the Muggle street looked her way.

In the darkness, one of the Dementors looked up, its cloak waving as another chilling breeze swept through, making Ginny tremble despite herself.

"Go away!" she called, knowing it was useless, wracking her brains for a memory as the sound of the Dementors' rasping breaths began to fill her ears. "Go away from here before I force you to!"

The second Dementor had seen her now, and both were advancing slowly, looming close as they crept through the shadows, avoiding the florescent glow of the streetlights.

Closing her eyes, Ginny concentrated hard, straining for a memory - something happy, something good - trying to ignore the deathly chill, the rasping breaths, the feeling of being immersed into a dark pool... pushed under... held under... struggling, struggling, choking – unable to breathe, unable to move as the blackness began to take over-

Then, all of a sudden, a memory came into her mind.

"_The thing about growing up with Fred and George is that you sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve."_

_Harry's face lit up at the words and Ginny felt her heart leap at the change it made to him. _She'd_ done that, a little voice reminded her. _She'd_ made Harry smile when, all of a minute ago, he'd looked just about ready to cry._

_And the little flame that burnt in her heart flickered just a little bit brighter._

Her eyes still closed, Ginny let the memories cascade on her, feeling their power build up inside her...

"_Have you noticed how he looks at her?" Romilda Vane was saying, her voice echoing in the mostly-empty Library._

"_Looks at who?" One of her friends asked, curious._

"_That Ginny Weasley girl. The one with the red hair. Last night, when I watched them at Quidditch practice, he barely looked at anyone else."_

_The group was silent for a moment and Ginny peeked around the edge of the bookshelf, wondering how long she should wait before passing the group to go back to her table._

_Finally, Romilda's friend opened her mouth again, and said, "What a bitch," making the others nod solemnly in agreement._

_Taking that as her cue, Ginny stepped out from the behind the shelf. She shot a bright smile at the group, feeling no desire whatsoever to hold it in, and hurried past their table._

"_I have to go," she said briskly to Dean, who barely had a chance to wave at his girlfriend as she disappeared from the Library, an extra skip in her step._

_They thought he liked her. They thought he stared at her. They thought he barely looked at anyone else. As the fire in her chest burnt merrily on, Ginny couldn't hold back a grin. Becuase, for once, she thought they were right._

Hardly a second had passed, and Ginny knew that now, if she'd wanted, she could've produced a Patronus. But would it be powerful enough? There were two Dementors, and the spell had always been tough for her. Was it really so wise of to her to have stayed?

"_Stay... please... mhmm... please..."_

_Ginny chuckled, leaning away from Harry, making him elicit a groan and his hands tug at her waist, pulling her closer. She let him kiss her again, almost persuaded by the feel of his lips on hers, his fingers on her stomach, to take his advice and not move an inch. Almost._

"_I have to go," she whispered, pulling back again, this time covering his mouth with a hand so he couldn't just kiss her again._

_He looked at her with those disarming emerald eyes, his fingers still playing with the bottom of her t-shirt. She inhaled deeply, looking down to avoid his gaze._

"_The train's leaving soon. And Mum will kill both of us if I miss my last term at Hogwarts because of you," Harry looked unconvinced, and she couldn't blame him. Mrs Weasley was never exactly very hard on him. The whole 'killing Lord Voldemort and saving the wizarding world' thing tended to make sure of that. "Ron probably will too," Ginny added as an afterthought, looking back up to gauge Harry's reaction._

_His eyes narrowed and his hands stopped fiddling with her shirt, lifting to gently pull at her's that was still covering his mouth. Giving Harry a cautionary look, Ginny lowered the hand._

"_You have to bring up Ron, don't you?" he asked sourly._

"_Nothing works better to cool the passion," she said brightly, grinning and standing from the bed, scanning the floor for her jacket. "Besides, I really do have to go."_

_Harry smiled sadly, watching her retrieve a shoe from the far corner._

"_I know."_

_Ginny, now holding both shoes and with jacket draped over her shoulders, moved back to the bed, sitting at its foot and leaning over to put her shoes on. Harry sat up, crawling across the tangled covers to sit beside her and press a soft kiss to her neck as she tied her laces._

"_I'm going to miss you," he murmured, his hot breath making her skin tingle and heart pound._

"_Me too."_

"_A lot," he breathed into her ear, before pressing his lips to sensitive hollow behind it._

"_Me too."_

"_When you finish school, promise me we can be together. Properly."_

_Ginny looked up at the words, pushing Harry back so she could see his eyes. His expression was serious, his gaze boring into hers._

"_You mean that?" she asked. "Really?"_

_His mouth curled up in a small smile, as he said, "If you want. I mean, I have a flat and half a bed that I'm not using," his tone was teasing by the end of it, and Ginny blushed._

"_Okay," she agreed with a nod. "I promise."_

_Harry's eyes were full of wonder as he comprehended the words, suddenly realising the enormity of what she'd just said, the magnitude of the deal they'd just made._

"_I love you," he murmured simply, his tone somewhat breathless._

"_Me too," she replied. "Always have, always will."_

_She leant in to kiss his lips, her heart melting as she heard him whisper, "Always."_

_And the inferno in her chest celebrated the victory, leaping up and spreading its warmth through her body._

As she felt that same heat rise in her now, Ginny opened her eyes, the happy, soaring feeling that was nothing more or less than pure _Harry_ pulsing through her, drowning out the despair, the sadness, the darkness that leaked from the cloaked figures before her.

"Expecto Patronum!" she yelled, watching as a shining silver horse burst from her wand tip, charging at the Dementors...

...only, she realised a second too late, they weren't Dementors at all.

Ginny smiled guiltily as the two terrified men ran screaming from the alley, making the little girl in the fairy costume giggle. Now bathed in the silvery glow of her Patronus, Ginny met the girl's eyes for a moment, and as she returned a gap-toothed grin, Ginny suddenly realised the one thing she needed to make her life perfect.

And, spinning on her heel, she Apparated away into the night.


End file.
